Binding Bars
by Waffles Rulez
Summary: Konan works at a jail. What happens when a certain boy is brought in? Will a gangster girl get jealous and cause problems? What about the snobby rich girl? PeinxKonan Rated for language Being Redone/Finished
1. Chapter 1

OK peeps, I've decided to redo/continue some of my stories. I thought this one was in dire need of attention. The chapters might not seem too terribly different at first, but I do plan on altering the plot and adding more details. I don't remember where I was going with this story because my plot list was on my old laptop which is no longer working. Please bear with me!

* * *

The old stone prison was a lonely place, not even the quietest of sounds manage to echo through its gray, monotone stone halls. In the main room a young girl sat at a rickety wooden desk there, angrily shifting through piles of paperwork with a most disagreeable expression on her face.

She had been recently moved to the front desk of the old jail from her old position from simply filing papers to filing papers, entering convict information, and anything else her boss could (and more than likely, would) come up with. The blue haired girl hated it. Being social was not her thing. Not like she had to be social in a jail, yet still, there was always the possibility of having to talk to someone. Still, she had to get a job somewhere.

The huge steel double doors creaked open and five cops came in. Konan looked up to see who it was, though it was probably one of their regulars, same as always. They had a man who looked about twenty handcuffed in their midst. He had quite a few piercings on his face, short, spiky orange hair, oddly colored eyes, and a pissed off look on his face. That wasn't an unusual look on anyone's face who walked in.

One of the cops walked by Konan's desk and threw the young man's file on her desk without a word or a glance. None of them ever bothered to speak to a mere receptionist like her. That suited her just fine anyway.

Their boots made thumping noises as they walked down the hallway to place the man in a dingy, unclean cell. It was unusual though for someone to go back so quietly. Usually the only ones who didn't go without a fuss were the insane ones, and he didn't look insane. Then again, it's the normal looking people who are mentally unsettled.

Konan opened the file and started to enter it in the system. It wasn't very thick at all, about twenty pages. The girl was glad. It made her job much easier considering how most people who came in here were repeated offenders from who had started at age twelve, or younger.

The blue haired girl read that he was in on accusations of thievery, which was not very uncommon. The cops must really have something against this guy since they took him in with no proof. The file didn't even have what he was accused of stealing in it. That explained why it was so thin.

Konan typed up his file, put it away in the cabinet, and continued going through the rest of her paperwork. Her shift ended, and Konan walked to her modest home a few blocks away. At her house Konan grabbed some leftover pork ramen from the night before and sat down at the table in her small home. She ate it quietly and headed upstairs. Same as always.

As she lay in bed, her thoughts drifted off not for the first time to where she was getting in life and where she wanted to be. Konan sighed as she went through a mental list of what she had: her own house, a job, food, water, and her high school education.

Now, where did she want to be in life? She certainly did not want to be working at the jail for a long time. Beyond that, her mind drew a blank. Oh well, perhaps something along the road of life would present itself. Konan set her alarm clock. Tomorrow was another monotonous, dreary, routine day following the schedule of breakfast, work, lunch, more work, dinner and sleep. Maybe she should follow her friend Layla's advice and find herself a man. It would be something interesting to break the endless boring pattern that was called her life. But where was she going to find a boyfriend? There certainly weren't any suitable candidates at the jail.

Konan sighed. She resigned herself to thinking about it another day and drifted off to her dreamless, black sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Konan woke up at six in the morning and got dressed for work as always. Today she deceided to wear a pair of jeans, a light gray blouse that fell halfway to her elbow, some silver piercings, and a white origami lotus behind her ear.

The twenty year old went downstairs and had her usual bowl of cold cereal. As she sat eating in her kitchen she reflected on how it looked. There wasn't anything on the walls, no little figurines on the white counter, no rugs on the linoleium, nothing. Only the necessities were in the kitchen. Konan liked the way her kitchen looked yet she couldn't help but wonder why she felt that something was missing. Oh well. It wasn't bothering her that much.

Her bowl was deposited in the sink and Konan headed out into the cool, spring morning air that was fragranced lightly with the smell of orange blossoms coming from the nearby park. The jail was a twenty minute walk in the less busy part of the city.

Konan's mind wondered through the possibilities of the future. What kind of job would she have in a few years? Where would she live? What would she look like? Who would be her friends? Would she be single, in a relationship, engaged, or...married? It was annoying to her to not have any idea of what the answers were.

Suddenly she found herself outside the jail. She shook her head, trying to clear the gloomy outlook that was her future from her thoughts, at least for now.

Konan sat down at the front desk and went to work on her origami since there wasn't any paperwork to do that early in the morning. There was nothing interesting in her dreary surroundings to inspire her favorite hobby. This awful cage was incapable of holding something worth being made into a paper model. Some of the guards complained about Konan doing something non-work related, but Chief Bishamon didn't mind since he knew how much Konan hated her job and needed something to distract herself with. Besides, the young girl was more proficient when she wasn't allowed to dwell on her less than condusive to good mood surroundings for too long.

So Konan was allowed to idly fiddle with her origami, wishing that her lunch break could come sooner, not like there was anything she wanted her to do, but being able to escape this gray, stone hell full of people not much better than some of the vile creatures of hell itself was a blessing to Konan. Of course, the paperwork really started to come in after lunch.

Chief Bishamon walked into the main room from his office.

"Konan, that guy, Pein, that we brought in yesterday must have quite a few friends because he already has five letters. Would you mind taking them to him?"

"I don't mind. Was he the one with all of the piercings?"

"Yeah, he's the one. We put him in the last cell on the left."

Konan picked up the letters and set off down the hallway. In there, it smelt like shit. Konan wondered if the prisoners were allowed to bathe. Maybe they didn't want too. Some men seemed to think that it made them more appealing to smell worse than a horse's ass.

Pein had a small cell made for only one person. It had a sink, toleit, a twin bed, and graffiti covered walls. In Konan's opinion the cell was half a step above from solitary confinement.

She stopped outside his cell. He was lying on his bed, legs crossed, arms folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

"Pein, here are your letters."

He stood up and walked over.

"Thank you." He said he took them from here/

Konan took this oppurtunity to get a good look at him. She didn't realize when she had seen him yesterday what a brilliant shade of orange hair he had, nor how many piercings he really had. Inwardly Konan winced when she remembered how much pain she had when she gotten her nose pierced. Thinking of the pain he must've gone through to get those piercings made Konan cringe.

"So, what is your name?" He asked in a deep voice.

"Konan."

"When I came in yesterday, you didn't seem too happy. If you don't mind my asking what was wrong?"

"I don't like working the front desk."

"Why?"

"There's the possibility that I will have to speak to the people who come in, and I don't like doing that."

"How come? You, and I are conversing fine, and most people don't consider me an appropriate person to talk too."

"Well most of the people I see are criminals and cops. Occasionaly someone get's a visitor. None of those people are interested in talking. If someone does want to talk, they don't have anything decent to say."

"I understand."

Konan nodded. "Well I've got to get back to work. Later Pein."

"Later."

Konan walked back to her desk, wondering how someone so polite and likeable ended up in a place like this. The only other person in the hellhole who even provided close to mediocore conversation was Chief Bishamon, and he was in his mid-thirties so Konan really didn't have much to discuss with him, even though she was highly mature for her age.

Lunch break came and Konan ran out to the nearby café. She grabbed a plain bagel and a small coffee.

The blue haired girl sat down at a table and started to eat.

Not even halfway through her meal a high pitched voice called,"Oh my gosh! Hiiiii Konan!!"

A petite body in a lime green tank top and booty shorts planted itself in a chair across from Konan.

"Hi Layla! I wasn't expecting to see you here today." Said Konan happily.

Layla had been her friend since high school, and even though Layla could be extremely hyper (especially compared to Konan) they enjoyed each others prescence.

Konan went back to her desk. Now, the end of her shift didn't seem so hard to wait for.

That night, for some reason or another, Konan slept a little bit easier, the nightmarish demons that manifested themselves as worries of her future were pushed away towards the edges of her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

Konan went to work the next day. It was, as one of her late relatives would've said, 'same shit, different day.' Nothing changed, same stench, same bland old walls. Some of the cops over the night had busted a huge group of drug dealers so Konan was busy all day typing their reports, filing them away, and et cetera.

Konan was so tired when she got home that she didn't even eat dinner. Konan took a quick shower and flopped down on the bed. Her weariness was like a shield against the demons prowling around her subconscious.

* * *

Pein sat in his dirty cell, not being able to sleep. He thought about Konan. She seemed so kind, so…different from all the rest of the people he had ever met. When you're in the line of work he was, friends were rare and usually fake.

Konan didn't look at him like a criminal, just a...person. It was nice-but odd. How could she hold such an unbiased opinion of him?

Pein wondered if he would see her again after he got out. Considering how the cops seemed to have it out for him in this town already even though he and his gang had just recently moved there, he highly doubted he would be able to stay out for long. When you have fiery orange hair and a load of piercings, you don't exactly blend into the crowd.

The man had been in jail so many times that the process was ingrained in his memory. Each time he visited the slammer it was becoming more and more monotonous. It seemed to be a never ending cycle. Yet, Konan was like a wrench thrown into the wheel. Her pale skin and blue hair stood in sharp contrast to the blandness of the prison. Seeing her made the experience more bearable.

'Damn, I found a hot girl already, and I haven't been in town six months! I wonder what she's like outside of jail...' thought Pein to himself as he stared at the ceiling.

Pein liked to keep himself busy with work. Kisame had told him that he should find a girl to distract him from work. Heaven knows that between Kisame, Deidara, and Hidan they found enough girls to fill a damn brothel. Honestly, Pein didn't have much interest in women, but Konan was unique. Maybe it would be worth his time to pursue her...


	4. Chapter 4

Konan sat at her desk that morning trying to sort through the shit load of paperwork the drug dealers left her with. There was so much that she hadn't managed to finish yesterday. People of that sort usually had thick criminal records which meant more work for her. Even more drug dealers had been caught during the night so even more paperwork had piled up. At the moment all you could see on Konan's desk was paper and the back of her computer monitor. No even her vibrant hair was visible.

Konan liked being busy though, the _click click_ of keys was better than the heavy silence of the jail.

Konan didn't notice over the comforting and distracting sound of the keys taping the sound of footsteps echoing down the hallway.

"Konan."

Her head shot up and her fingers ceased their typing at the sound of his voice.

A fiery red head was visible over the mounds of paper.

"Oh Pein, what are you doing here?" Asked Konan. Wasn't he supposed to be in a cell?

"I'm getting out today since they don't have enough proof to keep me in here."  
"Oh! Well that's just great." Said Konan.

One of the officers came up behind Pein.

"Alright, get out of here unless you want us to throw your sorry ass back in that cell." Said the officer gruffly.

Pein nodded and gave Konan a goodbye wave. She gave him a small smile on the way out.

The officer who had thrown Pein out turned and faced Konan.

"Counan I better NOT catch you speaking, being civil too, or even beginning to interact with that damn street ass punk. DO YOU HEAR ME? You may look like one of those street punks, but you do good work Counan. Don't give yourself a bad rep here at the jail for being seen with that guy. He isn't worth it."

The officer got close to Konan's face. "Understand bluey?"

Konan had to struggle to contain her anger. She might not be able to kick his ass or stab a million paper weapons through various spots causing a shitload of pain for Konan's amusement, but she could certainly tell him off.

"First of all my name is KONAN. K-O-N-A-N. I know you're not that smart with your elementary education, but try to wrap your tiny mind around that OK? Second, my hair is natural, I can't help that. Third, just because I have ONE piercing that isn't on my ears does not make me a street punk.

Fourth, who I talk too is none of your concern. Fifth, I don't give a damn about my rep at this place. Sixth, Pein did nothing wrong. You all arrested him on the vague whim he stole something. I don't think you all even know what he supposedly stole. Seventh, 'bluey' is a really lame name. I'm sure counting to seven is hard to you, but try to bear with me. It's hard for someone like me to lower myself to your pathetically low intelligence level. Did I leave anything out? "

The officer was angry his round face was turning purple. "You blue haired bastard! You have no idea how the law works. I try to give you advice and you shot me down. Pein is bad, thief or not."

"You tell me I don't understand how the law works? I believe when you write a police report you need to have witness statements, what the accused is being accused off, by whom, and such. I may not have gone to to law school, but I've typed up enough reports to know damn well what should go in them. I didn't see what Pein was accused of stealing, nor did you have any solid evidence. Anybody with common sense can tell you that you have to have some proof before you rightly arrest someone."

"Why you little blue haired-"

Konan had enough of this ass's yelling. She stood up and slapped him across the face. He stumbled back and had a huge red mark on his face. It stood out nicely against his purple face.

"If you say one more thing about Pein than I swear you will wish that you wouldn't be able to live to regret it. He is a far kinder person than you!" Screeched Konan.

Konan stormed out of the jail, not caring if her shift was over or not.

"Ill talk to chief Bishamon about your disrespectful behavior!!!"

Konan rolled her eyes. Usually she had a high tolerance of people considering the ass holes of officers she dealt with, but she was not going to deal with people taking their anger out on her. After all, that guy was just pissed because Pein was getting out scot-free.

It was a warm and beautiful day, the scent of orange strawberry blossoms heavy in the air, fluffy white clouds drifting lazily through the baby blue sky, people cheerily walking down the street. Konan didn't bother to stop and admire the surreal scene like she usually did. Her thoughts were swirling around like a pissed off whirlpool. People swerved to the side to avoid her as she thundered down the middle of the side walk.

Konan threw the door to her home open, and it hit the wall with a _bang_. Konan collapsed onto her zebra patterned bed. She vaguely wondered whether she should call in sick tomorrow. Konan decided against it and drifted off for a nap.

Pein calmly left the jail. He blinked a few times in the bright sunshine. He inhaled the scent of orange blossoms. That was his second favorite fragrance next to watermelon.

He walked down the street to the more run down part of town. He turned a few corners and stopped outside a shabby, brick apartment. The stairs creaked as he climbed them to the third floor. Dust came up in little puffs around his feet as Pein walked down to he fourth door on the left. The familiar red, chipped door was a welcome sight. After digging in his pockets, Pein produced a brass key and opened the door.

All of the main members of the gang were crowded into his small living room. Itachi and Sasori were stoic as usual and were calmly sitting on the lime green sofa pushed against the left wall. Kisame and Deidara were grinning like idiots. Obviously they were happy to have their leader back. Hidan was asleep in the navy blue recliner near the window, snoring very loudly. Kakuzu was sitting at the kitchen table to the right working on finances. Zetsu was rummaging through the fridge.

"Welcome back leader!" Said Deidara happily.

Kisame walked forward and put his hand on Pein's shoulder.

"Congrats on surviving prison again!" Said Kisame.

"Yea, thanks." Said Pein tiredly as he flopped down next to Sasori.

"So leader, how was your time in the pokey?" Asked Deidara.

"Boring as always."

"Oh you didn't meet a girl?" Asked Kisame, grinning.

Pein kept his face expressionless, though his insides were churning. He'd never hear the end of it if they knew about Konan, even though they had only spoken. The gang was like that.

"No."

Kisame's face fell. "Man, when are you gonna get yourself a woman?"

'When I find one worthy enough."

Kisame snorted and proceeded to help Zetsu rummage through the fridge.

"How the hell did you guys even know when they were letting me out?" Asked Pein.

"We bribed a few of the guards." Said Itachi calmly.

"Of course." Sighed Pein. The gang was so on top of things.

"When is our next job? Our finances could use a little bit more green." Said Kakuzu, still calculating.

"Anyone have any ideas? Since I've been in jail I haven't heard of any jobs."

"I heard about a business executive in the next town over needs some competition removed." Offered up Sasori.

"Good, get me his name and contact information, and we'll get right on that job." Said Pein.

Sasori nodded and went to the phone. After a brief conversation, Sasori hung up the phone.

"One of his lackeys is going to met me the day after tomorrow to give us the information."

"Good." Said Pein, pleased.

By this time, Kisame and Zetsu had finished raiding the fridge. They had amassed a truck load worth of ingredients.

"Now, we have a feast to celebrate our leader returning home from the pokey!" Said Kisame brightly.

Pein smiled inwardly. He loved this bunch, even if they were a little odd.


	5. Chapter 5

Binding Bars

Thanks for the reviews peeps! I appreciate everything you all have said. Since I have heard so many people asking for longer chapters I will try (no guarantees) and I've noticed that I've been lacking with spelling and grammar so I'll try to fix that too. So thanks again for the support.

* * *

Konan reluctantly rolled out of bed, got dressed, and headed off to work while munching on a piece of toast.

"My life is so boring." Thought Konan as she walked into the jail.

"Same walls, same floor, same awful smell."

Konan plopped down in her rolling chair and opened another folder. There was still a crap load of work to do from the drug dealers for her to do so there was nothing else for her to think about. The reports just kept coming in.

Her work had her attention so occupied that she didn't notice when the door swung open and shut.

"Konan." Whispered a voice.

Konan jumped in surprise. Less than two inches from her face was Pein.

"Pein! You scared me." Said Konan.

He smirked. "Sorry. You were in such deep concentration I didn't think you'd ever stop working. I've been here for about ten minutes waiting for you to look up."

"I apologize. There's just so much work and I would like to get it done."

"Oh. I suppose it is piled up pretty high. Do you think that a significant portion of it will be cleared by Sunday?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would go to a cafe with me Sunday night. Its okay if you're too busy."

"Of course I will Pein. What time?"

"What time do you get off?"

"Six o'clock."

"Okay, will you meet me at the Dawn Cafe at seven-thirty?"

Konan thought about it for a minute. It had been a while since she had had a boyfriend. High school actually. Even though she didn't usually go on dates, going out with Pein could be...dare she say it...fun. At the very least, interesting.

"Sure. I will."

Pein straightened up.

"Thanks Konan. I'll see you there."

Pein gave her a small wave as he walked back out the creaky, peeling doors. Konan sighed after he left. Then the empty feeling left behind filled with pure ecstasy as Konan thought about her…dare she think about it…date…Sunday night. No one had asked her out that was even worth going out with in a while so of course it was exciting. Even if this was nothing but a fling, a date would be the perfect spice to life.

Konan went back to typing with a renewed vigor fueled by her excitement. Plans were already devising themselves within Konan's head. On Saturday she would take the day off for shopping reasons, and on Sunday she would take the day off again to make sure she was well rested for that night. She had a pile load of unused vacation days.

Later, about thirty minutes before the end of her shift Chief Bishamon walked into the room, his shoes making dull _thump, thump_ noises against the dirty tiled floor. It was so dirty once Konan had taken her shoe and tried to scrap all the dirt off and figure out what the tile's natural color was. Success was not granted that day.

"Konan, did someone come in earlier? I heard the door open, but I was so involved with my work I forgot to come see who it was."

"Oh, it was someone who needed to speak with me briefly."

"Okay. By the way, I'm sorry to keep bothering you, but one of my officers came into my office yesterday."

Konan was silent.

"He said you cursed at him, raised your voice, assaulted him, and was very disrespectful." Continued Chief Bishamon.

"He was trying to tell me how to run my life. The officer approached me with a raised voice. He cursed at me first. He got to close to me so in self defense I slapped him. Happy?" Said Konan irritably.

Chief Bishamon sighed. "The officer was trying to help you. You didn't have a right to slap him."

"He was taking his anger out on me. That was not helping me at all."

"It doesn't matter. The officer graciously offered to forgive you and not press charges for assault if you apologize and admit you were wrong."

"Hell no! Let him 'press charges'. Its my word against his."

"Yes, but Konan he is an officer. His word will be seen as slightly more trustworthy in a court than you."

"It doesn't really matter to me."

"Konan, swallow your pride. Please don't be difficult."

The stubborn girl turned back to her computer and went back to work. The chief sighed and turned to go back to his office.

"Oh, before you go, may I take Saturday and Sunday off?"

"Of course. Nothing is wrong is there Konan?"

"No, no, not at all."

"Alright Konan. Thanks for the notice."

"No problem."

With that, Chief Bishamon walked back into his office.

At six Konan saved her work (heaven forbid she lost all of her work) and turned off her computer, picked up her purse, and headed out. As with everyday, the first breath of fresh air after getting out of jail was savored by Konan. For once, for some reason or another, she stopped and really examined her surroundings.

The reason for that eluded Konan. All that came to mind was the fact that she lived there most of her life and had just never really looked at it. Of course she appreciated her surroundings, but never truly studied them.

Now, every crack in the sidewalk, every chipped brick in the buildings, that stray cloud, all of those miniscule details stood out to her.

Then, Konan did something she didn't usually do. Her feet carried her to the park. Konan didn't register where she was until the smell of orange blossoms and the sound of the fountain reached her senses. A sigh escaped her throat. Deciding to sit down on the edge of the fountain Konan thoughts wandered.

She thought about her upcoming date with Pein, her job, the fountain, the park, the small town, the weather, other things like that. Suddenly, looking up, she saw a beautiful, fiery sunset streaking the sky.

When the fire of the Heavens died down and the glowing ashes appeared Konan stood up and walked home. She had been so mesmerized by the display she had to watch all of it. She didn't mind staying out late. The night was warm and felt pleasant.

As Konan walked past a series of compartments she saw a small homeless girl sitting on some stone steps.

It reminded her of days long past, when she was like that too. Suddenly Konan was tugged back to memories from Konan's youth.

"_Mommy, daddy is dead." Said a young girl as she walked into a dirty back room of a small home with tears running down her face/_

_The woman the young girl was addressing had pale lavender hair and extremely pale skin. Her face was slick with sweat and her chest heaving, and she could barely form an answer._

"_I'm sorry Konan dear, but it's time for me to leave this world too. I can do nothing. I can't bear to leave you alone, yet I'm being pulled away."_

_Konan started to weep harder, her blue eyes shining with tears._

"_Please don't go!"_

"_I'm sorry; forgive me, Konan….."_

_Konan's mother closed her eyes for the last time, her chest stilled, and her ragged breath ceased._

_That night Konan dragged her parents out to a field near her village. There were two holes next to each other that had been dug by one of the other families. The remaining family members had been killed before they could bury their loved ones._

_She rolled the bodies into the muddy holes. Her young body strained with the effort of pushing the mud over to cover them, especially since it was raining but after mounds of work, the dirt was in place._

_The rain started to lighten up. Konan sniffed one more time and went off to find something to eat and some dry clothes._

Konan tore herself away from unpleasant memories and continued walking home. It had been a long time since she had thought about that day.

When she got home, the phone was ringing.

Konan had barely said "Hello" when she heard a high pitched squeal.

"KONAN!!! How are you girlfriend? We haven't spoken in ages."

It was Konan's hyper active, high school friend Layla.

"Hi Layla. How have you been?"

"Great, other than the fact that I'm single again."

"Aww, what happened? You were doing so well with Lamar."

"Yea, well, he just wasn't my type. Oh well, there's other fish in the sea anyway."

"Definitely."

"Hey, I was wondering, do you want to eat out with me Sunday?"

"What time?"

"Seven at night?"

"Sorry I can't. I already have plans to eat out around that time."

"Ooooo, is it a boy?"

Damn, Layla was good.

"Yes."

"Good job girl! You haven't had a man in ages!"

"Well, its just a date, we're not actually together."

"Give it time honey!"

"If you say so."

"So, is he nice?"

"Yep."

"Where did you met him?"

"Uhhh..."

Layla was going to kill Konan when she found out she met Pein at the jail. Layla was constantly nagging her not to get a man from the jail.

Noticing the pause, Layla asked with accusation evident in her voice," You found him at the jail didn't you?"

"Yes."

"What have I told you about going on dates with men from prison?" Shrieked Layla.

"Calm down. We are just going to dinner."

"OK. Just be careful alright?"

"Alright Layla."

"I'll call back another time to reschedule our dinner OK?"

"OK."

"Talk to you later."

"Bye."

With that, Konan hung up the phone. She hated worrying Layla, but she really wanted to go out with Pein. Konan had dinner and went to bed.


	6. Chapter 6

Konan woke up that Friday morning feeling refreshed and honestly, better than she had in a long time.

'I wonder if today is going to be a good day...?' Idly wondered Konan as she dressed for work.

When she was done, Konan grabbed a bagel and ate it on the way to work. The spring morning was comfortable, not too hot, not too cold. She hoped it would be that pleasant tomorrow and Sunday night on her date.

Konan wondered what she would wear to the date. Should she go super casual with jeans a t-shirt or super fancy with a little black dress? After some serious thought, Konan decided to look for a skirt a nice shirt. Of course she was going to get other clothes too. It had been a while since she had been shopping.

When the blue haired girl reached the jail she surveyed her pile of work. It had gone down considerably due to all of her hard work the past couple of days, but it was still there. Konan sighed at the thought of how much was going to be there come Monday. With two days of no work, her desk would probably be sagging to the point of breaking. Maybe that would persuade Chief Bishamon to get a new (hopefully considerably nicer) one.

Konan sat in her creak, black leather rolling chair and set off to work. She didn't stop until her shift ended, and you could start to see the brown top of her desk. Konan sighed as she took her leave. It wouldn't look like that by Monday. The weekend was always the best time to catch criminals. That, in turn, meant more work for poor Konan.

* * *

The young girl made it home without any incident, had dinner (some ramen), made some origami, and went to bed.

Pein got up a eight in the morning, groggy and barely coherent. Yawning he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a leftover piece of Kisame and Zetsu's 'feast' which had ended up being ordered pizza. What had come out of the oven didn't look like it belonged in this world, let alone something that someone would eat.

Itachi had the brilliant plan of ordering pizza so that's what they all ate. That is, except for Zetsu. He ate the remains of the delivery man once Kakuzu was finished with him. After all, Kakuzu was in charge of making sure their finances were in a healthy state, and the cost of the pizza was being detrimental to raising money after all. Hindrances to the 'greater good' (as Kakuzu explained to the pizza man right before he dealt with him) must be properly dealt with. So, the pizza man was no more.

Most of the gang was sitting at the table, doing whatever. Sasori was carving parts for a puppet, Deidara was making sculptures, Hidan was eating cereal, Zetsu was no where to be seen, Kakuzu was working on finances, Itachi was eating cereal, and Kisame was complaining to Kakuzu.

"Dammit, that's the third one! At the rate we're going, they are going to figure out that every time they send a delivery guy to our place, they don't come back!"

"So?"

"So? Man, we aren't going to be able to order pizza any more!"

"We wouldn't have to order pizza if you could cook."

"It wasn't my fault!"

"Doesn't matter. I can't let them charge such ridiculous prices for food. Maybe once they realize their delivery people are going missing they'll lower their prices."

"That would make them raise their prices to pay their now over worked staff."

"Well, we'll keep disposing of their employees."

"Dude you are sick."

"No one else is complaining."

"Everyone is too busy to notice!"

"Zetsu noticed. He even thanked me for killing the guy for him. E said he had a very pleasant meal."

"Zetsu is a cannibal. He doesn't care whether we eat or not! I, for one, am I big man, and it matters to me greatly whether we starve, unlike you!"

"Go die in a hole."

Kisame was very pissed but didn't press the matter further.

Pein sat down and ate his breakfast.

When he was finished he turned to Sasori. "Where and when are you meeting the executive's lackey today?"

"The park. At three."

"Isn't that kind of obvious?"

"Well, the lackey is supposedly just a normal looking person. He isn't supposed to show up in a business suit."

"I see."

Pein stood up and went to his room to get ready to go out.

"Hey boss, where are ya goin'?" Called Deidara.

"Out."

No one dared, or felt like, questioning Pein further.

* * *

Hello my loyal fans, it is great to see you all again! It has been forever since I updated. I went through and redid every chapter so go back and read them! Some of them aren't all that different, others have changed dramatically. This story is going to be different then what I had first intended because I had the plot typed out on my old laptop, but sadly, it is with this world no longer. So, we'll see how this story turns out! Thanks for your support.


End file.
